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April 27.2007
The 56th Annual National Day of Prayer will take place Thursday, May 3, 2007. The theme for this year is "America, Unite in Prayer" and is based on the verse from II Chronicles 7:14 which states: "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." NIV
2007 Prayer for Our Nation
Written by Dr. Charles R. Swindoll
Almighty God, we pause to reflect on Your character as we seek wisdom for such a time as this.
In these unsafe days,
You remain all-powerful and able to protect;
In these uncertain times,
You remain all-knowing, leading us aright;
In the unprecedented events we're facing,
You remain absolutely sovereign.
Our times are in Your hands.
Therefore, our dependence on You, is total, not partial
. . . our need for Your forgiveness is constant
. . . our gratitude for Your grace is profound
. . . our love for You is deep.
We ask that You guard and guide our President
and all who serve the people of these United States.
May uncompromising integrity mark their lives.
We also ask that You unite us as truly "one nation,
under God." May genuine humility return to our ranks.
And may that blend of integrity and humility
heal our land.
In our Lord's name we pray,
Amen.
April 19.2007
Check this out----
April 15.2007
Does God Care About Our Knees?
By Rick W.
A few weeks ago, my knee popped for a second time in two months! Bad pain! I've been getting a little better over the last three weeks. Still, it really bites! X-ray showed lots of osteoarthriis and some bone on bone. MRI showed little-to-no medial meniscus. (All started with being invincible and stupid at 22 on the slopes of Mt. Hood)
Doc said I need a new knee but I'm too young. "We'll scope it and put up with the pain as long as possible." Had arthroscopic surgery on my bum knee Thursday afternoon. Walking on it first day after Doc's OK. The medial meniscus had a tear that flopped over completely and stayed there! That was my pain for those last three weeks!!! After looking at the MRI and my Doc saying I need a new knee, I was devistated! My prayer was for meniscus! I need cushion! My knee is totally stable; I just need cushion! Saturday morning now. All I can say is "Praise the Lord!" After having my meniscus trimmed for a second time, Doc says I still have 60% medial meniscus left. I am amazed and overjoyed!
Lots of prayers out there! Thank you everyone! Maybe I only had the faith the size of a mustard seed...
Perhaps all the kids in my life that don't know any better had so much more...
Supernatural Cartilage? Misread MRI?
I don't care! I have cushion! I praise the Lord!
Back to work on Monday!
Thanks again for all the kindness and prayers!
January1, 2007
God's New Year Resolution
by PASTOR BOBBY OLMSTEAD
Sun columnist
Each morning the sun rises in east Oahu right behind Rabbit Island, but today is no ordinary sunrise, it's January 1, 2007. As you awoke on that New Year's Day, like millions around the world, you thought in anticipation, "What will this new year bring?" It's a brand new year, a new beginning, a fresh start and then the three word phrase comes to mind: "New Year's Resolution." A resolution to lose weight, get out of debt, save money, make more money, get a better job, get fit, eat better, go to school, quit smoking and the list goes on and on. We all have made New Year's resolutions at some point in our lives. Webster defines resolution as this: A decision to do something or to behave in a certain manner. Let's be honest, New Year's resolutions may last at tops several months. By the time April rolls around, that resolution of going to 24 Hour Fitness you were determined to keep becomes "thank God for next year." Rather than keep the decision to do something productive, it becomes "I would rather stay at home and watch a movie!" This New Year, will we keep the promises we made to ourselves, or will neglect be our heart's intention?
There is one person that has not failed to keep his resolutions and that's God. Even after thousands of years, resolution after resolution, month after month they all have been fulfilled and will continued to be fulfilled. God never loses heart; He never gets discouraged, never gets too tired, but has always kept His decisions and heart's intention. In Psalm 33:11 it says, but the Lord's plans stand firm forever; his intentions can never be shaken. Though our plans or resolutions may fade into our comfortable couch, God's plan stands firm forever. Even his intentions can never be shaken. In the Bible, from the book of Genesis to Revelations, there are hundreds of prophecies and promises concerning Him, concerning you and the future. Let's just take a look at several of them. Deuteronomy 31: 8 The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Hebrews 13:5 "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Romans 5:7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 9 And since we have been made right in God's sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God's condemnation.
God will never give up you. God will keep his promises. Even when you feel like giving up on yourself, God will never give up on you. This is God's New Year's resolution for you. He will keep his heart's intention. God loves you more than you can even imagine. As lovers desire to be intimate, God desires to be intimate with you. Even though we might not uphold our New Year's resolutions, God will! God sent his son to die a criminal's death so he could have a relationship with you. As we begin 2007 will you make a resolution to seek after God's heart? God says in Jeremiah 29:11 "for I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." God has a new year in store for you! In this new year of 2007 will you grab hold of God's resolution for you? Happy New Year!
October 28
Today we spent our time fellowshipping with our family at Hope Chapel Baguio. Off we headed, packed like sardines over 20 of us, in the Jeepney to Asin. We spent a day at the water park, not exactly like Hawaiian Water Adventures, but there were several pools with an Octopus slide, and Frog slide that everyone enjoyed. It’s neat to spend a day with them at the pools since they only swim once a year, when we come to visit them. Not only was there much water and sun throughout the day, there was “ono” food. As you can see in the pictures we ate freshly butchered pig. Even Janice, Anne, and Hillary grinded away on the pork. That large squash looking thing pastor Arnold is holding is actually a papaya. They tell us that is about the average size of a papaya here in the Philippines. Imagine how big the large ones are.
On Sunday we will have our service with Hope Chapel Baguio in Pinsao. There “Pastor Rick” will be sharing the word, and Anne Wood leading worship “Today, I choose to follow you.” She has been desiring to belt out that song this whole trip. So she will get that opportunity to lead the church in that song. I am praying that Ben or Kristin will be able to email me the words & chords so at least we will have a guitar accompanying Anne as she sings! God help us! It’s always refreshing worshipping with HCBC especially with our friend Toto. They are true worshippers! After service we will have our annual party with some special foods! Yes, we may eat the fastest animal in Waipahu! Ruff—ruff! We won’t tell Anne it’s Ruff—Ruff, we’ll tell her it’s beef.
This is where we need your prayers. We will jump into a van at 1:00am Oct 30—(7:00am Oct 29 Hawaii Time) and head to Manila probably arriving at 5:30am. Our flight will not leave until 10:00am to Taipei for a 1.5 hour flight. From Taipei we will flight via Tokyo to Honolulu (9 hour flight) arriving on Oct 30, 8:00am Honolulu Time. It will be ground hogs day for us, we will arrive before we left Manila on Oct 30. We will be traveling for a straight 24 hours. Please pray for our sanity. We look forward to seeing all of you when we get back home. Have a great service on Sunday! Love all of you! Blessings,
Pastor Bobby
October 26
Today is Friday and there is a bit of suspense regarding what exactly is in store for the day. I have heard a number of times that we will be having chicken today and that our assistance in the preparation has been requested. Now normally this would not be a problem, but the issue at hand is that the chickens to be prepped are currently alive. Someone needs to slit their throats and de-feather them, and we have been invited to do so. We have nominated Anne to do the honors, as she is the manang of our group. Go Anne!
On a more serious note, the last two evenings have been really neat. We have been invited to different church families’ homes and have been able to hang out, eat with them and pray with them. Last night we went to the home of Toto and his wife Vilma. Toto and Vilma grew up together in a Christian orphanage in Baguio. One of their friends who they grew up with, Joseph and their neighbor Matty joined us last night for dinner as well. These childhood friends formed a family early on and have continued it to now. Toto works at a hotel and is a worship leader at Hope Chapel Baguio. Vilma is pregnant and they eagerly await a baby.
Wednesday evening we had dinner and prayed with two sets of sisters, Evelyn and Emily, and Karen and Tracy. They are young leaders in the church and invited us into their home. Reagan and Rocco danced hula and we talked with them about church ohana groups, how Hope Chapel HK has many small groups that meet during the week. Pastor Arnold is particularly interested in this way of fellowship and hopes to start it up within the Hope Chapel Baguio congregation. They tried to hold small groups before but hit roadblocks as the congregation is geographically spread out around the city and there are conflicting work schedules. Pastor Arnold would like to try it again, to build up the congregation with the support and closeness that small groups can offer.
We are off in a few minutes. Dinner prep ahead, the day will certainly be a memorable one. Thank you for you emails and prayers. We will be home soon and look forward to seeing you all.
October 24
It feels like we are a world away from the hustle and bustle of Hawaii Kai, traffic on Kalanianaole, quick runs to Foodland, and the 6 o’clock news. Last night by 7pm we were all ready to sleep. The day began with horseback riding in the city. We went with Pastor Arnold’s daughters Maymay and Unice, and his cousin Jong riding right in the streets. After riding we went to the church where Bobby lead a service for the young people and Anne and Janice taught hula. It was neat hanging out with the young people and hearing what the many things they are doing with their lives. A 25-year-old teacher I met at the church, named Lovely, is just finishing up her work Visa paperwork and in December will be heading to Florida to work in the kitchen on a cruise ship. Getting Visas to work, live and even visit the US is normally a lengthy, extremely expensive process for Filipinos, and so Lovely is grateful that she has been an exception so far to this norm and has had a number of open doors come her way and her hope is to find Christian support on the cruise ship and earn income to help support her family in Baguio. Another experience that touched many of us was hanging out with the very young neighborhood kids who come to the church for a safe haven to play. These kids were 4 to 6 years old, unmonitored and had a blast for hours with the entertainment of themselves and three cement slides. These kids are joyful rascals, survivors, and sponges for love and attention.
We went to dinner at the home of friends from previous years, James, JayLord, Delia, and Dan and had a time of fellowship and prayer with them. They are in their 20s and serve as leadership in the church. To get to their house we drove slowly in a van over a rough, unpaved road up a mountain. These friends and Pastor Arnold, his wife Ruth and cousins Jong and Jenny are inspiring examples of leadership! The path of church leadership and even daily sustenance is not laid out as something to just step into or follow, but with humble hearts, tons of hard work and joy they make it happen. We ate adobo, pancite, rice and egg sandwiches with them, greeted the guards at the APTS guard gate and waited a few moments for them to the daily vehicle bomb check, we noted an enormous spider in the stairwell and headed to bed.--Hillary C
Sunday—Oct 22
Our team went to Ambiong house church for the Hope Chapel service. For the first hour, we spent time with the Sunday school kids singing songs, praying and also making beaded key-chains. The kids were stoked! Reagan and Rocco had so much fun playing, singing and clapping with the kids of Baguio. Many of the children come as far as 20 minutes down from the mountain on Sunday. Many of the parents are out working in the field and they send their kids to the church. It’s awesome to know that as the kids lives are being touched through Hope Chapel Baguio in Ambiong, the parent’s of these kids will be touched by the Lord. After time with the Sunday school kids, we headed into the house to have service. About 30 adults piled into the home to worship the Lord. Their worship is so pure unto the Lord! I am so humbled each time God gives us to opportunity to worship with them. I gain a greater passion for Jesus watching their love for Jesus! After service they prepared a meal for the whole church. Chicken Adobo, panicite, rice, fruits! Rick Wood went to business! We all ate great.
After the service at Ambiong we headed to a house church in Tading. They meet with the families and have Sunday school for the kids there. Just like Hope Chapel Hawaii Kai there are many kids at this church. Hope Chapel Baguio is a mobile church. Pastor Arnold goes to the people and minister’s in their home. Once again the kids loved the beads! We had a chance to talk to the grandmother of the families. She was a mother to 13 kids. With all of her grandkids running around, Rocco playing with the usual ball, he began to cry when we started to leave. He didn’t want to leave his new friends! It’s neat that today we witnessed people who opened up their homes, and hearts to us. Church is not a building, but it’s where people of God gather in love and worship to Him. God’s house today was filled with his presence and love. We don’t deserve any of this, but as always they show us a tremendous amount of love. We come to serve, but in reality they give to us so much more than what we can give to them.
We will see what Monday will bring. Pictures will continue to come your way. The team would love to hear from you so please don’t hesitate to email me. We love encouraging words, or even words you want to send to pastor Arnold and the family at Hope Chapel Baguio City. Blessings and until next time…
Pastor Bobby
Oct 20, 2006-Part I
By: Hillary
Yesterday began at 5am in Taiwan. We took a bus to the Taipei airport a bit groggy but in good spirits. What woke me right up were large signs in the airport reading “Drug Trafficking Is Punishable By Death in the R.O.C.” While Benadryl and Malaria pills are the extent of our holdings, it still was a bit alarming to read such a sign and I was hopeful that there would not be any mistakes or misunderstandings as we walked through customs. We got through without delay and flew to Manila.
Young Reagan began the day with a temperature of 101 but was a real trooper. She was positive throughout the day, and between naps Reagan had us laughing with the sweet quirks and humor of a 4½ year old. On the flight to Manila, I had a friendly seat neighbor who had a wealth of interesting tales about experiences in the Philippines. She told me too that she had been connecting from flight to flight and was desperately longing for a toothbrush. “It feels like I have fur on my teeth,” she explained. This made me chuckle, as it was an amusingly dreadful visual. By the end of our trip, I expect that we will have many encounters that make us laugh, smile, capture our interest and create experiences for us and others that are far from average. We are eager and curious for the friendships and experiences that await.
The drive from Manila to Baguio was like Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. Bert, our racecar driver and friend, flew around the bends not blinking even once at the constant potholes and oncoming traffic that flew by only inches away from us. The crew in our van went from talkative to sleepy to carsick to slightly delusional. At about the sixth hour in the van, an unstoppable case of the giggles broke out in the van. This was rather healing to the turning stomachs and sore spines the extreme driving had caused. We happily rolled up to the entrance of Asia Pacific Theological Seminary (APTS) and an armed guard at the gate peered in the windows and then took a look under the van, I assume for a bomb check. The gate opened and he waved us in to the neighborhood where we will stay for our time in Baguio.
October 20, 2006 Part II
After a great night of sleep, we drove to our Hope Chapel Baguio and saw a horse galloping through traffic, and tons of people on scooters and jeepneys. Imagine a Hummer limo but one that has murals on the side and an open back for people to hop in and use it like a bus. It is almost like a bus version of the suped-up, low-rider bicycles in the US. This is the common form of public transportation here. Baguio is a city with homes and mom-and-pop food marts sitting close together on steep mountains.
We went to Hope Chapel Baguio and were able to join 4-Square churches there from all over the country for a conference. It was inspiring to see young people and pastors from all over the Philippines come together to encourage each other in their faith and have fun together. They shared what is happening in their churches, from the mountain villages to the cities. Anne danced hula, Bobby spoke to the young people and played worship songs on the guitar, one of the Filipino prefectures sang and danced a traditional dance, and another led worship with a praise band. The graciousness and generosity of the people at Hope Chapel Baguio cannot help but soften hard edges that I comfortably have back home. Today we will spend time with Hope Chapel Hawaii Kai’s longtime friend Pastor Arnold, his wife Ruth, and daughters Myemye and Unice. Whether we share laughs, a meal, our faith, or listen and learn from others, I hope to connect with new friends in a way that is authentic and open to God’s touch. -HC
Arrived Alive! SEE PHOTOS, and will our HCHK correspondent Hillary will post her first Blog shortly. It was an eventful, funfilled, long trip to Baguio. It was great to finally see Pastor Arnold and the gang, but now we are cozy in our beds at APTS! Blessings all..MABUHAY
Oct 19, 2006
“Chicken or Fish”
Tauyan, Taiwan
Boarding the China Airlines heading the Asia, these words continued to ring in our heads as the flight crew came around what seemed like about 10 times asking us if we wanted Chicken or Fish on the 9.5 hour flight. It was a long flight from Honolulu to Taipei Taiwan and we all hit the wall! We all crashed once we arrived at the hotel, and now are ready for the next leg of the trip. Here we are in the Holiday Hotel at 4:00am waiting to catch the bus to the airport for our next flight to Manila at 7:00am. Everyone is doing fine, and we have made it this far. We are still one Team for Jesus! Please pray for Reagan as she has a slight fever and cough.
In about 5 hours we look forward to seeing pastor Arnold and some of the gang in Manila, then we head off for a very long bus ride. We will be stopping off at Rudolf’s house for lunch. He is a artist at Anne’s gallery and he lives in Manila. We are praying that this will be a great opportunity to minister God’s love to him, and also for some good food! Then off to the races, we have a van ride anywhere between 7-10 hours. This is only the beginning of all that God will do. May God’s love continue to pour over your lives! We love you all! I will post some pictures once we arrive in Baguio. Till then MABUHAY!
Pastor Bobby and the Team!
Baguio City Mission 2006
The team is set to head off to P.I. All are excited to see God of the nations. Jesus said that you will recieve power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you! That is our prayer that God will anoint and fill us with His power! Thanks to all who has made this possible and can't wait to testify what God has done. Please keep us in your prayers! We have a long road of travel ahead, especially with our little friend Rocco. For Photos click on the Photo link above by the Up and Coming. Till we see one another again. Blessings..Pastor Bobby
Acts 1:4On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.
5For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."
6So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"
7He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
Lobster Tail
Sept 15, 2006
This is from a book I am currently reading The Emotionally Healthy Church by Peter Scazzero..ENJOY!
Pg 197
'In a sense we are all lobsters. In order to grow, lobsters have to rid themselves of their old, hard, protective shell and grow a new larger one. This process of shedding an old shell is called molting. They do this about 25 times in the first 5 years of life and once a year after they become adults.
It is an ugly process. Under the pressure, the old, hard, protective shell cracks. Then the lobster lies on its side, flexes its muscles, and pulls itself from teh cracked shell. For a short time between the leaving of the old shell and the hardening of the a new one-the lobster is naked, feeling very vulnerable to the elements.
In the same way, out growth into Christlikeness requires we rid of our old, hard protective shells and allow God to take us to a new place in him. It calls for a commitment to do the hard work--one day at a time."
Christian's Venture to Japan Visiting the YWAM Mission Team.
Submitted 8/7/06
I had a wonderful time even though it was such a short trip. My main purpose was to visit and encourage our DTS team that is still there right now but I also was scouting out the land (as we like to say in YWAM) to see if our campus or Sharee and I would have further opportunities in Japan. The first few days we worked with a Young Life group and got to share about Christ with around 30 Japanese university students, it was amazing!! So many of them were really interested in what we had to say and talked with us until about 11:00 pm after the meeting. There has been a lot of flooding in Japan recently so we also went and helped some disaster relief work for a couple of days. It was a real blessing to the workers there because they had been cleaning up 1000+ homes for weeks without a break. Finally the most exciting thing our team has the chance to do is start a house church in a village with only one family that is christian. A couple asked if they would come every week and teach so they could see their village following Jesus instead of Buddhism. Amazing!!! This is why I love short term teams. Even they make a huge impact in nations around the world. Continue to pray for our
team in Japan they are working hard to reach such and unreached country in this world.
Blessings in Christ,
Christian
Notes From the Field>
Submitted by Kezia--6/5/05
My brother Nate, my best friend Alexis, and I are traveling Europe for one month meeting up with different Campus Crusade staff and hoping to share the Gospel with students in the Hostels. Alexis and Nate recently got engaged, so we met her in Spain where she had been studying and spent time in Seville, and southern Spain. I got to go over to Africa (Morocco) for a day, which was so cool. There were virtually no signs of God there and it was important for me to be reminded that there are cities with millions of people that have no idea who Jesus Christ is. There is such a need....Next we traveled to France and Switzerland where I had been studying last summer. Then we got to stay with a man that is on staff with Agape ministries in Austria, which is the Campus Crusade for Christ in Europe. It was so crazy to stay with him (for almost 4 days) we went to student's dorms, bringing food and drinks and would sit in the dorm kitchens with them and talked about God and sharing the gospel. Austria is a really hard country, the people have been so pressed by the official church that alot of accultic and new age religions have arisen. The students dont really want to have anything to do with God and really, all of Europe is so dark. Less than 1% of most of the countries are born again. People are so closed off and complacent and most staff and missionaries that we've been able to talk to are struggling tofind a way to reach the heart of Europeans. There is such a need for missionaries to Europe and people who show an active faith and the Living God.
We moved on to the Czech Republic and Slovenia and were able to share the gospel with people that we met in the hostels. Now we are staying in Croatia for about 5 days, where my brother and Alexis did a mission trip last summer and some of my friends are here permanently working with college students. They were able to meet with students they'd shared with last summer and one of them had accepted Christ since last summer. From here we are taking a ferry to Italy and I fly out by myself to the Netherlands and then Paris to be with some friends of mine that I'd met in Hawaii. Please pray for those relationships. I've been able to share the Gospel with all of them but I'm praying that we'll get to talk more and they will see the Truth. I miss Hawaii, but am loving all that I'm experiencing with God this summer. Europe is so dark and the people we meet and share with in Hostels are just so hungry..they are searching for Him, and seeking adventure, but they just dont see that it is only found in a relationship with Jesus and that they were meant for Him and to know Him. Thanks for all of your prayers, I'm excited to see everyone in August!
Ciao!
Kezia
"For I have a great sense of obligation to people in our culture and to people in other cultures to the educated and uneducated alike...For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes." Romans 1:14-16
Thoughts on current series, Money, Money, Money, Money, Money
Submitted 5/17/06 by Anonymous
I guess you can put me as one of those people that hates to hear the subject of money....especially in Church. But i think it was good to talk about it cause its a real thng in our lives and with so many infomericals and the world just bombarding you with how to become a millionaire, how to get out of debth...family expectations.. and so forth, it was good to hear godly advice on how to just be a good steward.
For me thats what I got out of it, is just be a good steward and not to boast but i think i do a pretty good job at it...who knows... only god knows. God's blessed me and its a blessing to me when i can bless others (to me thats one way of being a good steward...not just keeping it all to yourself), be it friends,familly or even people that ive never met thru organizations such as world vision. Even how you spoke of not just giving money but also your time and other resources ...when you said that i was like "yeS" cause to me when people just give up their time to sit down and talk or just even give me a ride or hangout....that to me is priceless. Ive never ever kept track of my finances cause i hate math and dealing with numbers..but on monday god just was i think challenging me to at least try to do something with my finances.
Hopefully it works out and it will be an even better way to steward my money. So nothng major you know..just trying to do my best with what Jesus has blessed me with. We need to start taking action and not just listening to sermons on sunday and not doing anythng about it. Thats my biggest challenge from God even when i sin cause Ive heard so many great messages and had advice and conversations with godly people..but the challenge is to live it out with everything i've heard.
God's Splendor
Submitted by Pastor Bobby 5/15/06
Yesterday on Mother’s day our family headed out to the ocean. On a boat from Koko Marina, we entered Mouanalua Bay into the deep blue sea. The weather was beautiful with the backgrounds of Koko Head, Daimond Head, the mountains of Kuuliouou, sunny skies, clouds and the sun looming over us was breath taking. As we drove out on the boat about a mile off shore the water got so blue. The deep blue ocean was calling me in. So as the boat stopped I jumped into the ocean. It was only about 30 feet deep but being in the vast Pacific Ocean I felt really small. Floating with the current pulled me further and further away from the land I was at the mercy of the ocean. Also hoping that I would not be left as dinner for the sharks that night.
In that moment I thought of one-thing! “ God you are awesome!” I also felt so insignificant with God’s entire splendor surrounding me. The ocean, the mountains, the sky and sun, I felt really small as I looked at the enormity of God. Yet God takes pleasure in me. Why? Why would he take pleasure in this broken, dirty, sinful person like me? It is so easy for me to see God’s beauty and splendor in His creation like the mountains, the sky, the ocean, the sun, but to see his beauty in me? It’s not that easy, but we are “God’s Greatest Creation” Genesis 1. It’s hard for us to understand isn’t it! Yet we are!
Look into the mirror today and reflect on God’s beauty, His majesty, and His splendor as you look into your own eyes. Isn’t God’s goodness and grace so good? You were created for His pleasure….
The First IM
Sumbitted by: Jacob-4/20/06
1 Kings 8:28
Yet give attention to your servant's prayer and his plea for mercy, O LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day.
Lord, you hear my prayer and cry for help. You listen to each and every prayer I have.
In 1 Kings 8:28, this is a person asking the Lord to listen to their prayer. Later on in the chapter, this person sacrifices animals just so the prayer will be heard. This was the daily practice of the Isrealite priests that were responsible for asking the forgiveness of the entire nation. Now, many years later, there's a connection to God faster than any instant message, phone or computer. In fact your message is known to arive before it's sent and gets a reply everytime at just the right moment. But this "device" was before the first telephone or computer, it came out about a millinium ago when the world's bill for the new "device" was paid. Going back to the Isrealites, you prayed, sacrificed then God would hear you. Now it's Jesus gave his life, the ultimate sacrifice, God hear's you when you pray. So the "device" is a relationship with God and prayer.
The Temple of the Lord
Submitted by: Jacob C. 4/13/06
1 Kings 9:3
The LORD said to him: "I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.
When He heard the people's prayer, asking Him to enter their hearts, the Lord agreed to enter when he saw their plea for forgiveness.
When I saw this verse it reminded me of how a person accepts Christ into their hearts. The temple of the Lord in the Old Testament is often related to a person's heart probably since Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:19, "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own". The difference with the temple is that it took decades to build, where as people are able to accept Christ in seconds. When a person accepts Christ into their heart it's basically, "I'm a sinner, I ask for forgiveness, I choose to follow you." Solomon's prayer in 1 Kings 8 takes over 40 verses until God says he accepts Solomon's prayer. So seeing this verse it reminded me how easy I have it, not needing to build a wonder of the world and able to have the gift of Christ in the beginning of my life. It also reminds me that I need to pray that first prayer in a relationship with Christ since I fail every day (Romans 3:23). Accept "I'm a sinner", "ask for forgiveness", and "choose to follow you".
Lord, I'm a sinner and I ask you to forgive me for disobeying you and falling short of righteousness. Please help me to follow you and be an example
Random Thoughts of Who We R!
Submitted by: Ben F. 4/12/06
Random thoughts about our church, Hope Chapel Hawaii Kai, "the little church with a lot of heart":
-We are a band of vagabond warriors fitted with the king's armor.
-We are the orphans brought in from the cold to dine at the king's table, adopted as sons and daughters.
-We are slaves to the Gospel. The upside down Gospel. Our cry is, "Why me, Lord? Why did you choose me?"
-We are the fragrance of the nail scarred lamb. When people smell us, they smell the orphan chooser, the
vagabond gatherer, the luke 15: "waiting father". They smell grace.
-We are the turtle in the race aginst the hare. We'll get there if we don't give up.
-We are learning as we go. But we are taking ground every week.
-We are like Bethlehem.
-We are the David in a world of Goliaths. God has a destiny for our little church.
I am hopeful and proud to be a part of a little church with a lot of heart. We are the scrapper in the fight, the one with passion, . . . the one with heart. I pray we never lose that, even as we grow.
WHY DO I FOLLOW JESUS?
By: Pastor Arnold D. Hope Chapel Baguio City, Philippines
A question we dont really want to think of or dont want to engage ourselves on. that was my view before. to start with: i was born and raised in a christian family, grew up in the church, and christian environment actually. days and years past as i discover the world im living, there are lot of environment i havent seen and experience before. as a discoverer of my own, i was just as curios as the others around do. so in short, i did follow my own aside from knowing all that was taught right. i was caught in the traffic where there is no way out! so as the road dictated i go through until such i can move as the road has now a little bit to turn on fully. and that was when i was reminded that im already on the wrong way.
FOLLOW JESUS! someone shouted! and your life will go to the right track. well, that sound made me alarmed and a wake -up call. yes i will! .....til then i made a concrete decision that i will follow jesus. but why? because if i will not follow him i will i will ruin my life. no one will guide me, no one will care for me, no one in this world can care for me like Him. i tried some people but they pushed me down, i tried my own nothing happened but more worst. until JESUS came and rescued me, my soul got restored. He cares for me. 2 peter says: CAST ALL YOUR CARES UPON HIM FOR HE CARES FOR YOU, : John 10:10 says THE ENEMY WILL COME TO STEAL, TO KILL AND DESROY. BUT HE(JESUS) CAME THAT WE MIGHT HAVE LIFE AND HAVE IT ABUNDANTLY. we will lose nothing if we follow Jesus. but we will have everything. Matthew 6:33 says SEEK YE FIRsT THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS AND ALL THIS THINGS WILL BE ADDED UNTO YOU.
To follow Jesus is the ultimate thing we can do to have a fulfilled life. if you happened to reject this decision before, let HIM touch your heart now, allow HIM to work in your life through the HOLY SPIRIT and you will be changed. your life will become meaningful. you will enjoy God's company with you. and mind you, you will never be the same again. like i do. ................... blessings!
to hope chapel hawaii kai family
From: ruth P. Dadulla--Submitted 4/7/06
keep workin with a GOOD HEART!! you are worth not for what you have ,not even for who you are but for what others have become because of you. Thank you for being a part of hope chapel baguio...many souls are waiting for your next mission trip.......sis. ruth dadulla(hope chapel baguio,philippines)
So why do I follow Jesus
By: Steve S.--Submitted 4/5/06
I would say because He is my very source of life. When Jesus asked Peter and the 12 disciples if they would leave him like all of the other followers Peter replied, "Lord, to whom shall we go?"
That was because they believed in there heart of hearts that Jesus Christ is the Son of God in whom we have the gateway to eternal life. I agree with them, who can we turn to except God's very own Son? Who can fill us, move us, guide us, or protect us other than Jesus? There trully is no one more patient or kind, gentle or noble, holy or blameless as He is. And there is definitly no one that would put up with me like He does. Jesus himself teaches us that He came to give us life and life to the full. And thats what he does, gives us a real life, and a real mission, which makes Him the only One trully worthy to be followed.
Anywayz today I went to Ohana and i think it was God all the way, but after dinner I got a stomach ache so I went home before everything at Ohana began, and before I left Renee prayed with me and she said something during the prayer that i didnt understand what it meant, but she thanked God for my ministry. So when i came home I turned on the tv and there was these two girls singing the song "when you believe" if you guys dont know that song i have the lyrics posted on the bottom and after that a pastor came on and he gave a message. These are the gems that I got and I know God was talking to me personally. The pastor was talking about prayer and the miraculous, he was using hand gestures so its hard to illustrate but here goes
So we pray down here and that sets forth in motion the miraculous up there but in between theres all this space and nearly all of us want that space to not exist. We want the miraculous to happen as soon as we pray, most of the time im like that too. The pastor said thats not how God works, he said that our greatest legacy and testimony is the space in between. It doesnt matter if we are limping or jogging along as we go from prayer to the miraculous. For example "Job" and "Jeremiah". Its not when we are at the top of the mountain that our testimony or legacy is the greatest, its all the space in between. Gods purpose is fullfilled in the space between. To me the space in between represents a time when our faith will be tested the most cause we are not imune from this world but we have to stand firm fully knowing that we are Men and Women of God. Another gem i got was the pastor said this line "prayer, its not result driven, its love inspired" This line for me fit perfectly with what Pastor Bobby said in his blog about God's love. Its so funny how throughout the day God will just speak to you here and there either thru something you read, could just be a paragraph, then someone could pray for you and you wont understand just like Renee did for me, and how at that one moment he just reveals everything to you so clearly and all the pieces fit in and you are just humbled, and blown away. Its so funny cause I was wresting with God the whole day and I was just asking him to speak to me, and whadaya know thats exactly what he did. If you're still reading this hope this all made sense and whatever youre going thru just get on your knees and talk to God he'll show you the way. Its that simple and his love is all we ever need in life. Thank you Jesus! ~~~~ Anonymous.
Many nights we prayed
With no proof anyone could hear
In our hearts a hopeful song
We barely understood
Now we are not afraid
Although we know there's much to fear
We were moving mountains long
Before we knew we could
There can be miracles
When you believe
Though hope is frail
It's hard to kill
Who knows what miracles
You can achieve
When you believe
Somehow you will
You will when you believe
In this time of fear
When prayers so often proved in vain
Hope seems like the summer birds
Too swiftly flown away
Yet now I'm standing here
With heart's so full I can't explain
Seeking faith and speaking words
I never thought I'd say
There can be miracles
When you believe (When you believe)
Though hope is frail
It's hard to kill
Who knows what miracles
You can achieve (You can achieve)
When you believe
Somehow you will
You will when you believe
There can be miracles (miracles)
When you believe (When you believe)
Though hope is frail
It's hard to kill
Who knows what miracles
You can achieve (You can achieve)
When you believe
Somehow you will (Somehow, Somehow, Somehow you will)
now you will
You will when you believe
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. ~ John 15:13
Drops of Love
Bloger: Pastor Bobby--Submitted 3/28/06
With all the rain on the island the last month there has been no escape. Do you know what I am talking about? Rain, Rain, go away, come back another day! Rain has been the word and flavor of the month. We are faced with rain everywhere we go. Heading the office, at lunch break, dropping off the kids, going to the mall, getting groceries, getting in and out of the car, trying to play softball on Sunday’s there is no escape from this rain. Just like this rain there is no escape from God. You can try hiding and protecting yourself from the rain but eventually the rain will find you.
There are times in life I try to hide under the makeshift umbrellas of my heart, and in the shelter of my flesh to hide from God. Sometimes it’s because of the guilt, the shame, maybe stupid reaction I had towards my wife, sometimes feeling unworthy to be loved by God. But like rain eventually God will find a way to pour his love onto my heart. Like rain God desires to soak us with the His presence. Psalm 23, you anoint my head with oil and my cup overflows. Like rain there is a constant downpour of His love upon our heart. The shelter we try to protect or hide us from God is insufficient. His rain will just break the protection we try to put around our lives. God will eventually find us. His Presence will wet us. There is no escape from His Love.
Let’s just not fight anymore. Let’ take down the makeshift umbrellas and tear down the shelters of our heart. Let's all stand in the open. Just allow his drops of love to fall upon your heart. If you do: like rain we will get wet! Soaked by His presence. Just jump into the puddles of His love. Let it rain, Let it rain; Let it rain with God’s drops of Love.
Bloger--Cat N. Submitted 3/23/06
Well doesn't God always answer our prayers! I was just praying this morning about the testimony of my eye. My original prayer started out... God, please heal my eye! Throughout the following month, I have experienced so many testimonies that I could take one service to praise God on things that he has revealed to me on an individual basis... but do you know what the most awesome thing is, that I've finally figured out what God was REALLY trying to tell me!.. and yes it's only taken one month of applying antibiotics every hour (yes have actually progessed from every half an hour!). We pray for quick healing and I certainly haven't got it, but what I do get is that I could have lost my eye and against medical stats, I didn't. As a matter of fact, I still have a risk of loosing my eye, but have no fear and am surprisingly not tired. So God has made it clear to me that through the slow journey of healing, He will keep me safe and out of pain, but will continue to reveal things that bring me closer to Him every day until He feels that I'm ready to move onto the next stage (whatever that may be).
God could've given me the quick way out, but He's so gracious that He keeps me safe but takes and uses this time of healing for MY better good and for MY relationship with Him! This is the ultimate testimony that I feel he wants to share with us. It's like Janice, we pray for her healing and he answers by taking away the side effects that Dr's say she should have. He has a plan for all of us and one thing I always repeat in the Dr's office is that God is in control and He never gives us more than we can handle!
Through this whole ordeal God has shown me so many things, especially with OUR relationship, and all I can do is to keep having my quiet time with Him and listening to what he has to say. All I can do is Trust in God... it's really that simple!
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